Road Trippin'
by mirah8
Summary: You recall the beginning of your relationship with Dean, even if some of it is a bit hazy.


"It's been four days; don't you think you've ignored him long enough?" Sonia smirked at me, "Ha, _, it's ONLY BEEN four days. He's still has yet to reach the _week_ mark." We sat there in silence for a moment, the cheap motel room with its shag rug and cheap décor stunk of alcohol and cigarettes; due to mostly the emotional states of myself and Sonia. It was three in the morning, we sank into a drunken sleep; not expecting what happened that night.

"Ugh…Sonia…" She had flipped the lights; it was not the most pleasant way to be woken up, especially with a hangover. I looked at her, my head resting on my pillow, squinting at her standing over an old book, holding my cell to her ear. (Why is she using my phone?) I wondered; she has her own…who doesn't nowadays? I rested my eyes, listening to her conversation as she frantically flipped the worn and weathered pages. "Ummm…alright, it says that you have to use a certain type of tree branch- hold on." She flipped more pages, "Here, here, it's a…" Her voice trailed off into nothingness, I fell back asleep. Even her semi-hurried state failed to keep me awake, I am usually concerned when someone calls for assistance on a hunt, but I was just too drunk to care, too confused.

A good five hours later I awoke, my hair disheveled, breath stale, and makeup just a mess, I grabbed some clothes and hopped into the shower. As I washed my hair I began to recall the events of the night before, well…the parts I could remember. It began with Sonny and I leaving Bobby's house. We had stayed there a week to help out with chores and to watch the place while he went on a hunt in Louisiana. We had the house to ourselves, did the usual, provided fake aliases, cover stories, and information to hunters that needed it. Anyways, Bobby had returned home, "Thank you gals for bein' such a help, I 'prreciate it." Sonia grinned, "No problem Uncle Bobby!" "Yeah." I chimed in. And then we left for…Ohio…there was a hunt, so we rented a motel room that morning and were prepping…but then were told that someone was already on it, so we just relaxed…but something happened. I couldn't remember, "Why was I so upset? Why was Sonny?..." I heard a knock on the bathroom door, it was Sonia, "Hun, when you're done, there's a Biggerson's down the street; you hungry?" I stopped the water, "Yeah. Um, what happened last night?" There was a long silence, "I'll tell you in the car, ok?" (Great, there's going to be a story…if it was nothing she would've blown it off…) I put on my makeup, did my hair and got dressed, I was going to pack my things, but noticed that Sonia had yet to do so, "The job's done right?" Sonia looked at me, her coat half on, keys in hand; "Yep, job's done. But we're going to stay a few more days. I'll explain later." She was tired; I could hear it in her voice and see it in her forced smile. She started the car.

We sat there, in park, for what seemed like forever before she began to speak. Smiling, she asked me, "What do you remember from last night?" I told her, not much; she sighed, and filled in the blanks. "After we had figured that the job we had come here to do had already been taken care of, you and I just kind of chilled." I shot her a puzzled look, she continued; "It was about nine, that's when I got a call from Dean." She looked at me, my stomach sank. (Of course it has something to do with _him_!) "Well, not actually Dean, but Dean's phone…there was a girl on the other end." I remembered. At that moment I recalled a lot of the rest of the night…and I wished that I hadn't. After the call we got drunk…talked a bunch of bull, and questioned if this way of life was still what we wanted.

Pushing my pancake around the plate of maple syrup, I broke the silence that had been since we got out of the car. "Why are we staying…?" Sonia looked up from her paper, surprised at my speaking up. "To figure out where we want to go from here. Evaluate whether or not working with the Winchester's is going to be a do-able thing. There can't be a conflict of interest." She was right, but we both were a little shocked, Sonia had done a total role reversal, I was usually the one looking at it from a professional stand point. "We don't have to stay then, there's nothing to figure out, I can work with them-" "_-" "Sonia. I can work with Dean, there's nothing there, and last night proves that there never was."My heart sank, I wanted so badly for this to be not true, but it was, there was no changing Dean Winchester. Sonia spent the rest of the day trying to convince me that I was in denial, that Dean did indeed have real feelings for me, and that he should be sorry that he messed his chances with me up, but I couldn't bring myself to even consider it as a possibility; if he did feel the same way I did, and what Sonny and I thought he felt, then he wouldn't have done it.

Our bags were packed, I had convinced Sonny that I was fine, and we were going to leave that night to a cabin in Colorado, clear our heads. But something had popped back into my head, "Sonia, why were you on my phone?" She was throwing bags in the back, "When?" She was hiding something, "Last night, err, this morning." She looked at me face on, "I was talking to Dean." I was taken aback, confused, "What?! Why? Why my phone?" "He called and I picked up, you were passed out. He needed help with a job in Nebraska, so I gave him the info and then chewed his ass out for what he'd done and put you through." "Yeah, and?" Now I had confused her, "And, what's the real reason you wanted to stay an extra night?" "I told you-" "No, we're _always_, no matter what, we are going to be in this life. We can't change that. And because of that we'll be running into the Winchester's, it can't be helped…"She rolled her eyes, "Fine, Sam and Dean we're going to come so you could figure this _Dean_ thing out."

I looked at her, puzzled, and kind of mad. "Whatever Dean and I had, was obviously one sided and no longer exists. So, just stop it ok?" Sonia grinned at me, "Fine, if there isn't anything, then this is just going to be a friendly work related visit. You did say that you'll have no problems working with Dean." I dropped my bags back onto the ground, "When are they going to be here?" She glanced down at her watch, "Hmm, they should be here in about an hour." I brought my bags back into the room, "Hey, kid, why are you-" I looked back at her, "I don't want them to think that we're staying just to talk to them." With that Sonia slammed the trunk and followed me in, we sat and waited; watching TV and cleaning our guns. I looked at my phone, "Dean Winchester (866)-907-3235". I thought about calling him in an effort to make this meeting less awkward than I thought it was going to be, but I put my phone in my purse and continued to wait. I asked Sonia, "You keep focusing this visit on me and Dean, but you and Sam?" She moaned, "Ohhh…he'll get what's coming to him."There was a knock at the door, I jumped up and hid in the bathroom. Sonia rolled her eyes at my reaction and answered the door; I heard muffled voices through the walls and decided to adjust myself in the mirror before the inevitable.

Through the bathroom walls I heard bags, luggage, being thrown onto the beds. Then I heard Sonia at the door, "Hey, you fall in or something?" Ready as I was ever going to be, I took a deep breath and opened the door. Sonia was standing there, she led me to the bed, and we sat across from the Winchesters, waiting for someone to speak first. I watched Sonia look at Sam, and Sam look at Dean; none of us knew how to begin this talk…so I spoke up, sighing "So, Sonia is there anything you'd like to say to Sam?" She crossed her arms, "The week mark M, has yet to be met." The room was silent again, Dean broke the silence, clearing his throat, "_, I-" Not able to contain it any longer I interrupted, "Who was that girl on the phone?" He looked at me, confused, "What girl?" Sonia was getting annoyed, "You're kidding, right? The bimbo making calls from your phone at nine o'clock at night." Dean still didn't understand, Sam stepped in, "Who, Ruby?" All eyes were on Sam, "Dean it couldn't have been anyone else, she was the only one in the room last night." Dean looked as if he was going to kill Sam, "Ruby? I forget my phone and Ruby starts making calls? Even worse she goes and stirs something up with M?" Dean stood up, not wanting him to hurt Sam I got up too, facing Dean I stood in between them. Looking over my shoulder at Sam, Dean was growing angry, "Dammit Sam-" I put my hands on Dean's chest, "Calm down, just chill ok?" He loosened up and looked at me, "That's what all of this was about wasn't it? That's the reason Sonia chewed my ass out the other night?" I didn't know what to say, I felt like a fool for getting so worked up over nothing. "Yeah, I thought that you were with someone else…" He smirked, holding me, just quiet enough so that only I could hear, "Baby, I'm with you. There're no other girls, none. Just you and me." Smiling, he held me and all was well again; not so much for Sam and Sonia.

Sonia reached for her gun, "You were with Ruby?" Sam twiddled his fingers, "Yeah, but Sonny-" Dean grabbed the pistol from Sonia and placed it on the couch, "Sonia, Sam and Ruby were never alone together; trust me. I kept my eyes on him when she came around, I didn't want him to slip up with the demon blood." Sonia laid her head back and stared at the ceiling, "But that's just it, I shouldn't have to worry about that, we shouldn't have to worry about that. Sam…" Sam sat up, "Sonia, what do you want me to do?" She sighed, "I don't know." Sam looked at Dean and me, "Give us a minute?" I looked at Sonia and she gave me the go ahead. Dean grabbed my bags loaded them into the impala, we sat in the front row of seats, he stuck the keys into the ignition but waited to start the engine. "Dean, I'm sorry for being crazy-" He put his hand up, "Don't, don't apologize. It's not like your suspicions didn't hold any weight." I didn't understand, "What do you mean?" Turning to me, "I'm not a saint, kid-" I put my hand over his mouth, "Dean Winchester, never have you ever given me reason to doubt or question your fidelity in _our_ relationship. I was wrong to assume, especially without talking to you about it first." Removing my hand, he took it into his; I scooted next to him and he started the car. He looked at me, "We're ok?" I nodded and rested my head on his shoulder.

Hey, why'd you put my bags in the trunk?" He smiled, "I figure that Sam could hitch a ride with Sonia." I turned the radio down, "But Sonia's pretty pissed, she may not even let him in the car." He laughed, "I suppose. But I think they'll work it out, it may take a day or two-" I smiled, "Oh is that all? What are we supposed to do in the mean time?" Dean winked at me, "It's a surprise. Tell ya what, it's going to take us a while to get there, you could take a nap and I'll wake you up when we get there." I was emotionally exhausted, Dean could tell, it was all over my face; so I clumsily climbed over the back seats, "Whoa, what the hell-" Tired, I laughed it off "Don't worry about it." As I laid in the backseat, he threw his leather jacket back; I folded it, used it as a pillow and went to sleep. I don't know how long I slept but at one point during the drive I woke up, I stared at the roof and listened to the radio, I heard Dean tapping the steering wheel to the beat as he hummed along. Unaware that I was awake and listening, his humming evolved into soft singing, "…if the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you. Mountains crumble to the sea; there would still be you and me…" I smiled, not wanting to startle him I stretched and made some noises, he stopped singing. I raised my head and sat up; he looked at me through the rearview, "Where are we?" Clearing his throat, "'Bout hundred miles out of Sioux Falls." I grabbed his jacket put it in the passenger's seat, and proceeded to climb over. Not as close as before, I leaned my head against the passenger window, Dean pulled my feet onto his lap and rested his hand on my ankles.

I looked at him, "Bobby's right, and how is that a surprise?" I yawned; he was rubbing his forehead, "You'll see, the surprise isn't _Bobby's_. Oh, and I heard your phone go off earlier, couple times actually." I reached for my purse on the floorboard, my phone read, "Two New Messages: Sonia Faeytal. One Missed Call: Sonia Faeytal. One New Voicemail. " I listened to the voicemail first, "Hey kid, you should pick up your phone…umm…Sam and I are going to head to Bobby's, I'll fill you in on the details later. Bye." The message was hours old, I deleted it and read her text messages, "Couldn't wait, Sam and I are good. :) Not so much a miss understanding as you and Dean, more of a, it's either me or her, and guess who won that round? There was a lot of groveling involved. ;) Oh, and don't worry, I may be texting, but Sam's driving. See you soon!" I went to the next message, it had only been sent twenty minutes earlier, "Made a stop, we'll be a little late. ;) ;) ;)" Disgusted I threw my phone back in my purse; Dean noticed my expression and asked, "What? Who was it?" I sat up, pulled my feet off of him, "It was Sonny, she and Sam are…good." He gave me a look, "'Good' how?" Fighting an awkward smile, "Like _good_, good. She said that they'd be late to Bobby's." Eyes focused on the road, Dean smiled, "That's my boy." I couldn't help but to grin, I turned the radio up and pulled down the visor. I grabbed my purse and dug through it, "You look fine Ma-" I shot him a look, "I look tired," I began to line my eyes, "and don't use the word 'fine'…it makes it sound like you're brushing it off or something." He pulled the car over, this was obviously bothering him. I continued to apply my makeup, "First of all, you don't even need makeup you're hot without it." Winking at me, "And when I say you look 'fine', I'm not 'brushing it off'. Baby, you're beautiful-gorgeous." We'd had this discussion a couple times before, and it always ended like this, even so, I still felt myself blush. Quietly, I thanked him for the compliment, which he responded to as he always did; he smiled at me and kissed my cheek. With our spat squared away he kept the Impala in park, I glanced at him between applications of mascara, "I don't want you poking your eye out kid." With my eye makeup finished I gave him the go ahead, and we continued on the highway to Sioux Falls.

The sun was rising when we reached Bobby's, Dean go out of the car first, "We'll get the bags later." I gave him a pout, "But I wanted to shower…" He rolled his eyes, "Which bag do you need? And don't say 'all of them', fool me once." He stretched then made his way to the back, I laughed, "The big purple one." Bag in hand he shut the trunk and led me inside Bobby's house, it was the same as when Sonia and I left and as it always was; cluttered. Books, piles and stacks, shelves full of leather bound and paper back, all of them collecting dust and cobwebs, they were everywhere and anywhere; except for the kitchen, which other than the cracks in the linoleum, was pretty clean with its retro 50's country appeal. Setting the bag down he wandered into the kitchen, yelling, "Hey, Bobby? We're here." I stayed in the entry way, Dean came back, the house was unusually quiet. "Maybe he's not here?" Dean looked concerned, "Yeah…maybe…" He glanced over a large dark stained oak desk with gold handles, Bobby's desk; "Here we go," he lifted a piece of paper and read; "Sam and Dean, and hopefully _ and Sonia, Sorry for the short notice but Rufus needed an extra hand on a case in Oklahoma. I should be back in a few days. – Bobby." I sat on the couch, "So much for the friendly visit. Why are we here anyways? " Dean took a deep breath, "Not important." He sat next to me, "Not important, like not important? Or not important because you don't want me to worry?" He leaned back, hands behind his head, "Trust me, you don't want to know." I would've pushed the issue, but he was beat, I kissed him and got up. I grabbed my suitcase and went up the creaky wooden staircase to shower. There were only two functional bedrooms upstairs, one of which was Bobby's the other was the guest room. I would have claimed the guest room for myself, but I thought about the text Sonny had sent me earlier, (I better give those crazy kids their own space.) I didn't want to have to shield my eyes every time I went downstairs, Dean and I would just flip a coin for the couch; the other would get a sleeping bag on the floor. Not that the couch couldn't comfortably fit the two of us, but Dean and I hadn't exactly gone public with our relationship, not even Sam and Sonia knew just how serious we were; and Bobby didn't even know that we were together. Truth is, Dean and I were well into boyfriend-girlfriend territory, we had been for a while, close to nine months. Sam and Sonia thought that we were just starting out, but we had in fact been together longer than their four months. While in the shower I wondered what Dean didn't want me worrying about, but I trusted him, and figured that when the time came for me to know, he would tell me.

Fresh and clean, I changed into my VS tracksuit and headed back downstairs. Dean was buried in a book; he shut it when he saw me. "Sam just called me, said they'll be here in about an hour." Hands in my pockets, "Hmm, we have the house to ourselves for an entire hour? Whatever shall we do?" We exchanges smiles, he sat on the couch. I came towards him and he pulled me on top of him.

Half an hour later we ended up cuddling on the couch, I looked into his eyes, "We gonna to tell Bobby when he gets back?" His expression was soft, loving, he nodded; "But that also means telling Sam and Sonia the truth…" I rested my head on his chest, smiling, "Ok." His arms were wrapped around me, we laid there for a long while, enjoying each other's company, when we heard an engine outside, it was the Mustang. I didn't want to get up, neither did Dean, he sat up and so did I. Sam and Sonia came through the door; they were a couple of love birds, hands all over. Dean shot me a look, then began, "Hey, hey, whoa, inappropriate." We all laughed, Sonia flipped Dean off and broke away from Sam long enough for him to ask, "Where's Bobby?" Dean answered, "Not here, with Rufus on a job in Oklahoma." I added, "Said he'd be here in a few days." Sam and Sonia couldn't stop gazing into each other's eyes. Dean snapped his fingers, "Hey, Sam we need to talk." I looked at Dean, "It's not about that, not yet." They talked in the kitchen; I asked Sonny, "So, how'd your talk with Sam go exactly?" She gave me a smirk, "Alright…So, you guys left, and I was still pretty pissed by the whole Ruby deal. Sam kept apologizing, about everything…and we talked for a good couple hours about things." "Like what?" "You know, what he and I were doing, where this is going, the usual. Anyways, when everything's said and done, he and I want the same things out of this…and we're going to work on the trust. No more Ruby…at all." She was beaming, and asked, "Anything exciting happen on your drive over here?" I shook my head, "Nope. I did however take a _really_ nice nap in the Impala, _awesome_ nap." She shook her head, "God, you're lame." Sam and Dean came back into the room; he gave me a look and motioned me to him. Standing next to Dean, he held my hand and looked at Sam, "You're going to wanna sit down for this." I looked at Sonia, "The same goes to you." Sitting on the couch, exchanging looks, they gave Dean and I confused and worried expressions. Dean looked at me, "We need to tell you something." I knew what Sonia was going to ask, so I playfully quipped, "Don't worry, I'm not pregnant…at least I don't think-" Dean continued, "_ and I are together...and we have been for a while-" Sonia, "Well, yeah, we know-" I mumbled "Nine months." Sam and Sonia couldn't make out what I was saying; Dean coughed, "Nine months." They still didn't catch it; Sam was giving his confused grin, "Just say it-" In unison Dean and I, sternly and clearly, "Nine months!" Sonia stood up, "What?!"

Dean was going in to calm her down, but she pushed him away, "You and her have been together practically this whole time?" Dean and I were nervous so we began to laugh, Sam stood next to Sonia, "This isn't funny Dean!" I was behind Dean, "We know, but you two are scary…" Sonia approached me, "Scary? That isn't an excuse to have kept this from us!" I hid behind Dean, "No, we're laughing because you're scary. We kept this from you because-" Dean blocked Sonia from me, and added, "Because we didn't know what to do." Sam and Sonia relaxed, Sam took a step back, "What do you mean, you didn't know what to do?" Dean sighed, "We knew that we wanted to be together, but I couldn't protect her, not always. And Sam, you _know_ how many things want us dead. I couldn't risk it, I still can't; but out of respect for the people around us, we wanted to let you know, and now you do." I walked around him and stood in front, "Please, this doesn't leave this room, Bobby doesn't even know." Dean wrapped his arms around me, "Not yet." Sam and Sonia had gone from furious to understanding, Sam sat back down; "Does Cass know about you two?" I looked up at Dean, "He hasn't gone out and said it, but I think he's catching on." Sonia had been quiet, she walked up to Dean and I, "Dean, may I talk to you, outside?" She was calm, which worried me more than when she was angry, "Sure, but I'm packing, and don't think I won't shoot you if you try anything." Sonia led Dean through the front door, slamming the screen behind them. I looked at Sam and we held our ears to the window, it was easy to make out their conversation, Sonia was yelling.

"What the hell! Of all of the hunters, all of the skanks you could've had, hell; all of the skanks you have had, you choose her!? " I imagine she was swinging at Dean, he sounded like he was short of breath, "I know! I know Sonia! I can't help it, and neither can she!" Gravel was being kicked around, he was dodging her punches, "What do you mean?! You're putting her life in danger the closer she gets to you, can't you see that!?" "Yes, but the demons-" The gravel was silent, they were standing still, Sonia chuckled, "No you idiot! Stupid, the closer she gets to you the more hurt she's going to be when the inevitable happens-" "Wha -?" "Dean, the average lifespan of a hunter isn't that much to begin with, but you and your brother? Come on. She's not like the rest of us Dean; she has a chance of making it out, living a life. But, _you_?" They were quiet; I glanced at Sam, his furrowed brow agreed with Sonia. Dean began to speak, he had returned to a normal tone, the yelling had stopped and I could no longer hear what was being said. Not wanting to lift the curtain or go outside and interrupt, Sam and I sat on the couch, waiting. I asked him, "Are you and Dean working a job right now?" He was confused, the things Sonia had brought up were distracting him. "Maybe, why?" I saw the book Dean was reading on the coffee table, opening it up I read aloud, "'Crossroad Deals.' What's this about? Don't tell me-" Sam took the book from me, "It's not what you think, no one is making any deals." I cocked my head, "Then what's the job?" He chuckled, "If Dean hasn't told you, then I'm definitely not going to." With that I knew Sam wasn't going to budge, I crossed my arms as we continued to wait for Sonia and Dean to return, I felt a nudge at my side, "Think she killed him?" The door opened, only one came through the door.

I got up, "Sonia, where's Dean?" She looked defeated; Sam took her and sat her down. He repeated, "Sonny? Where's Dean?" She looked at him and smiled, "Don't worry Sam, he'll be back soon." Sam gave me a worried look then returned his attention to Sonia, "Sonny, tell me where he is." I looked outside, my luggage was neatly set on the porch; the Impala was gone. I ran back inside, Sam was holding Sonia, she was crying, Sam looked at me, he was shaking his head, I didn't understand. "What? What's going on?" My back pocket began to buzz, I answered, it was Dean; "Dean? Dean where are you? What's happening?" I walked outside, hoping to see the Impala pull in, "I can't."Riding off of Sonia's energy I felt tears beginning to form; "Can't, can't what?" "You need someone who can give you a normal life, a safe life. A life as far away from demons and hunting as humanly possible, someone who isn't going to die at thirty because of some supernatural monster. And I can't, I can't give you that." I didn't know what to say, he continued, "I love you. And because of that are in danger. I'm sorry." My legs stopped working, I collapsed onto the porch, "Dean, I-" He hung up the phone. I was in shock, I starred at the rows of piled up cars littering the scrap yard. I couldn't even cry; I was so hurt, my heart felt numb.

Three days passed and I was still in the guest bedroom, curled under covers and not talking to anyone. I hadn't eaten or bathed since Dean left, I hadn't gotten out of bed since coming up after Sam helped me get inside off of the porch. The day before Sonia had carried my bags up, she tried to talk but I ignored her. Bobby had come home almost immediately after the fight, from what I gather it's because Dean went on a hunt, and because Sam told Bobby about what had happened. I wanted to stay in bed forever, but my grief was beginning to turn, I was starting to feel mad. Mad at everyone for making decisions for me, not giving me any say so in the matter, mad at Dean for leaving without an explanation; and _really_ mad at Dean for hanging up on me. Anger had lit a fire under me, and I got up for the first time in three days and showered. Afterwards I looked at myself in the mirror, I just about punched it with all of the thought running though my head; instead I went through my luggage and looked for some clothes. While unzipping my duffel I saw an envelope, (Sonia must've slipped it in before bringing them upstairs.) It was addressed to me, I opened it; it was in Dean's handwriting.

_"M, you have no idea how sorry I am, but Sonia's right; and I still mean what I said earlier. Truth is you deserve better than me. It's selfish of me to want to be with you, even if being with you is the only thing that makes all of this worth it. I know that I will regret this for the rest of my life, but I would regret it even more if something where to happen to you, or you missed out on something because of me. I don't blame you if you hate me, but I love you, and I always will. Just know that when I picture myself happy, it's with you. –DW"_

I held the letter in my hands for a moment and fought the urge to cry, I was on the verge of climbing back into bed when I heard a quiet rapping at the door. "You awake?" It was Sam. I hurriedly clothed myself then answered. Surprised that I was mobile and clean he asked, "Wanna talk?" I took him inside and closed the door. "_, Dean's-" I handed him the letter, "What's this?" He read it, "Dammit Dean." Sam wiped his mouth, "Dean's being an idiot. He makes a lot of good points, but he's still an idiot." Sam crumpled the letter up, I almost stopped him; but I trusted whatever he was going to do, he made it clear that he was on my side. I sat on the bed and began to brush my hair, asking him "What am I going to do?" Sam sat on my largest piece of luggage, "You're going to go after him, tell him what a moron he's being and-" "Sam, I can't just 'go after him', he's running from me, and if he doesn't want to be found then I for sure as hell won't find him. " Sam let out a sigh, "Yeah, I guess you're right…but I can." I set the brush down and stared at Sam, "Ok, let's say that you do track him down, what am I going to say? What's he going to say that he hasn't already? " Sam was going to stand and give one of his moving pep talks; I stopped him from doing so. "Sam, just forget it, what's done is done. I'm leaving tonight, tell Bobby I said thanks, and tell Sonia nothing."

Sam picked the crumpled letter off of the floor and handed it to me, "You're right. Promise me you'll be safe and check in?" I unfolded the letter, glanced over it one last time and tore it up, "I will. As long as you don't tell Sonia where I am, or Dean if he asks…which I doubt he will." Sam nodded, "She never meant for this to happen M, don't blame her, she feels terri-" I smirked, "If she didn't want this, then why else would she have said what she did?" Sam made his way out, looking over his shoulder, "I'll get the keys to the Mustang…help you load it up tonight after dark…no one will be awake." With that he left and I went through my bags making sure everything was in order, I looked at the scattered scraps of paper on the floor and for a split second, wondered where and what Dean was doing; I shook my head and continued to go through my bags.

At ten I was dressed and ready to go, but I still heard footsteps downstairs, sitting in bed waiting for Bobby to turn in, I flipped open my phone and wanted so badly to call Dean. I pushed the green button, listening to the ringing on the other line my heart was racing; the last ring was coming up when I heard, "Hey." He sounded like he'd been drinking, I heard people and clinking glasses in the background, he was in a bar. I hadn't planned on him answering, "Hey." Neither of us knew what to say, we spoke at the same time, laughing it, off he insisted that I go first, "Why'd you leave? And I want the real reason, I deserve that much." He didn't understand, "I told you-" I cut him off, "You told me a bunch of crap. We've had that talk before, about the hunting and the future…our future." I heard the Impala door slam shut, "I know…M, I'm sorry. It's just-" "If you're going to leave me then leave, but don't do it because you think you're protecting me." I ended the call and turned my phone off. A few minutes later Sam came in, he reached in his pocket and gave me the keys to the Mustang. "Dean called, said he's on his way back; if, you know, you wanna see him." I shot Sam a glare, picked up a bag; he picked up three and followed me downstairs to the Mustang.

Reaching for the door knob I heard the clearing of a throat behind me, and it wasn't Sam. I dropped my bag, "I thought everyone was asleep." Without turning to face him, Bobby began to speak, "You're plenty of things kid, but I've never known you to be rude." Sighing, I turned, "Bobby-" He stood from behind his desk, "This is the kind of crap I'd expect from Dean, but not you. Leaving and avoiding the problem isn't going to-" I picked my bag from the floor, "He's already left me, I'm just going for a drive." With that I went to the Mustang and threw my bag in the trunk, Sam was following behind me and packed more of my bags. "Now, are you sure you want to do this?" I nodded and made my way to the driver's seat. "I don't know where I'm headed, but when I get there I'll let you know." Starting the engine I rolled the window down, he ducked in, "What do you want me to tell Sonia and Dean?" "Tell them not to look for me, tell them that I'm going to live a normal life." He smirked, "What are you _really_ going to do?" I put the Mustang in reverse, "That's a good question…I'll talk to you later Sammy." With that I left the salvage yard and got onto the highway, I headed west without any idea of where I was going or what I was even doing. Not even ten minutes on the road I saw the Impala coming towards me, Dean was headed to Bobby's. He slowed down and flashed his lights, wanting me to pull over. I sped up not worrying about him coming after me, turning on a dime isn't the Impala's strong suit. I looked in my rearview and watched the taillights of the Impala fade away into the darkness.

I had been on the road for hours and stopped only twice to fill up my tank. I had just crossed the state line into Montana and decided that I was far enough to slow down and make a plan. I rented a room in a little motel, when I first got the room I read the local paper to see if there were any strange cases I could work, I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary, but I needed to distract myself somehow. Fresh out of the shower; I sat on the foot of the bed and set out an outfit. I glanced at the newspaper, a small article that I had overlooked before, had caught my attention; '_Chop Shop Suspects Released From County Jail._' I read the article and recognized the name of the supposed ringleader, _'Eric Gippal, (26) had a lighthearted statement upon release, "No bars can contain me!" He was then rushed off by his public defender…' _Laughing to myself, I got dressed and searched for my phone, it wasn't in the room. I went to the car and found it in the backseat, standing outside my room I turned my phone on, there were twenty seven missed calls and twenty voicemails, twenty five of the calls were from Dean, one from Sonia and the other from an unknown number. Not wanting to deal with anyone I deleted all of the voice messages and looked through my contacts, (I know I have his number…) I found it, but it wasn't under Eric Gippal, I had forgotten how much fun the two of us had together; so I called him, I called 'Mr. Sexy Pants'.

The call was immediately picked up, it was a woman; "Hello, Thunder Plains Auto, how can I help you?" I decided that it'd probably be best if I kept my true identity on the down-low, "Hi, yes, I have a '65 Mustang and it's making a rattling noise every time I make a right turn. I was wondering if I could bring it in and have it looked at?" I heard paper being turned, "Yes, we have an opening tomorrow at four, you can just bring her in and we'll take a look. Can I get a name?" I smiled; Eric always had a thing for a certain friend of mine, "My name? My name is Sonia Faeytal." With my appointment made and the beginnings of some sort of plan in motion, I decided to go out for the night, I deserved it. I crept by the auto shop on my way to the bar. It was as I had remembered it; just a bit more beat up. No one was there; at least it looked as if no one was there, it was after all one of the most lucrative chop shops this side of the Mississippi. I continued to the bar. It was small, out of the way, but boy was it busy, the entirety of the gravel lot surrounding it was jam-packed with cars and trucks, one of which caught my eye, a very familiar '67 Chevy SS, electric blue with white pinstripes; I parked behind it, boxing it in. Looking cute and feeling halfway decent, I inched myself between the parked cars and made my way to the door, there was a crowd outside, a bunch of people chatting it up and smoking, I got a few cat calls before I finally stepped through the door.

It was loud, glasses clinking, biker type people hollering, music blasting, I scanned the room for the owner of the SS, but there were just too many people. I spotted an empty seat at the bar and swooped it. The bar tender was understandably busy, there was a man to my left who kept trying to get my attention, I ignored him. (He has to be here, he'd never let anyone drive his car.) The bartender finally made his way to me, "What'll you have?" I gave him a smile, "I'll have whatever Gippal's drinking tonight." He gave me a look, "You know Gippal? No way, you look too nice to know a guy like him." I remained silent, still smiling. He gave me a look, "Alright then, three shots of Petron and a Jaeger-bomb coming up." I knew Gippal's liked to drink, but I forgot how much. Three shots glasses and a large glass sat in front of me, I took a deep breath and went for it. After two shots I was feeling it, I looked up at the ceiling, old magazine and newspaper articles were plastered to it, I spun my seat around and still saw just an unsavory crowd of shady rough looking people, until I noticed a man waltz on the small stage in the corner. It was Eric; I had forgotten how pretty he was. He yanked the ratty looking microphone and with bottle in hand began to speak, laughing, "Ladies, and gentlemen, I would like to toast to all of my comrades at the shop, I couldn't ask for truer friends." He took a swig, "I would also like to thank the academy, and all of the little people!" Eric tipped the bottle and poured it into the front row of the crowd, "Seriously though, no matter how hard they try, they'll never catch us, to the Thunder Plains!" The crowd cheered and clapped, I stood on my bar stool…not the best idea after taking shots and wearing high heels. Still on the stage I yelled to him, "G-Man! Hey!" Waving my arms was also probably not the best idea either; I wavered and lost my balance, falling into the arms of a member of the crowd. I looked at him, he set me down and helped me regain my balance, I saw the crowd part behind him, Gippal was making his way to me. The large man who had caught me stepped aside, we were face to face.

He handed his bottle to a woman and extended his arms, "Kid! How long's it been?" We hugged, "Not nearly long enough." The whole bar was silent, they were curious as to who I was. We parted, "Ah, _…_, _, _, to what do I owe the honor of your gracious presence?" I grabbed the last shot on the bar and took it, clearing my throat, "Sonia and I have decided to part ways, and I thought that I would come and visit you!" He was beaming, a drunk me was a funny me, "Oh, really? Let me guess, this tale involves a guy?" I nodded, everyone was staring, Gippal wrapped his arm around my waist and swiped my Jaeger bomb, taking a sip, "Everyone, this is _. She and I go _way_ back, she's one of the best and y'all know what I mean. So, don't go giving her any shit and we won't have a problem, got it? " There was an understanding within the group, they were not to bother me, Gippal always had my back. He took another sip, "It's a little too crowded in here, and if I remember correctly, you're a little claustrophobic." I looked at the door, then back at him, "Ok, just a sec." He chugged the rest of his drink, grabbed his bottle, and then escorted me outside. The moon was bright, but the stars were covered in a haze of clouds, it was cold but not freezing. The group of people was still smoking, Gippal tilted his head and they scattered, we sat on a bench and he handed me the bottle. "What is this anyways? It doesn't look like your normal fancy bottles." He chuckled, "No, no, tonight was all about celebrating, that my dear is the absolute cheapest champagne you can get at only the finest of truck stops." We laughed, I handed it back to him, "What? Not even a swig? This must be serious then." I looked at him, "I'm only going to tell you if you promise not to get involved or make any snide comments." He raised his hand, "Scout's honor." I took a deep breath, and began to tell him everything that had happened in the past week.

By the end of my story his head was rested in his hands, elbows on his knees, and bottle untouched, by his foot. "_Wow_. She really told him that…" Sighing, "Yeah and sorry she's taken." He shook his head, "Don't worry about it, she's a little too much woman for me." Chuckling he searched for the right words, "So, you loved him? You were in love with him?" I nodded. "And do you still love him?" I didn't know how to answer, "I don't know…I'm mad and hurt…but, yes, I do…I still love him." He put his hand on my shoulder, "He'll come around, and until he does you're welcome to stay with me anytime." With that out of the way we caught up on other things, when we ran out of things to say the sun had risen, standing outside my car he gave me one final embrace and I went back to the motel.

I hadn't been there for more than an hour when I got a call, it was Sam; I answered. "Hello?" He sounded relieved, "Hey! Glad to hear you're alive!" I smirked, "What's up?" "Just got back from a job, a haunting in Michigan. What've you been up to?" "Oh, drowning my sorrows. Who was with you on the hunt?" "Sonia's been hanging around at Bobby's, it was just Dean and myself. He said he saw you leave?" "Yeah, I passed him on my way outta town…Ummm…how's he holding up?" There was a long pause, and I heard someone in the background, "Who're you talking to?" It was Dean. "No one, just Ellen, said there's a job in Texas that we should check out." Another pause followed, then "Sorry about that. He's dealing…in his own way." He meant drinking, "Sam, I want to see him so badly! What should I do?" "I don't know…he'll probably just push you away and make things worse…both of you need time." With that we said our goodbyes, then I received a text from Sam, 'He was listening to the last part of our conversation, he knows I was talking to you. He's been looking for you and he feels terrible. Thought you should know.' I didn't text him back; instead I checked out of the motel and went to the shop. Gippal was in his jumpsuit, and he made that suit look good. The grease on his face and hands made his smile practically a blinding white when he saw me, I waved and he came, "Hey, what's up?" I grinned, twirling my fingers in my hair, "Oh, nothing…just looking for a place to crash for…ever." He grinned and texted me an address, "It's a yellow farm house, about twenty minutes out, can't miss it." "Thank you." "And kid, spare key's in the porch light fixture." I thanked him again and headed to the address he'd texted me, when I saw it I didn't believe it was his; but the mailbox said, 'Gippal', I parked in the driveway and lugged my bags inside.

It looked an awful lot like a doll house, and the inside was even more of a shock, it was clean, there were lace curtains and doilies, the furniture was old but in good condition, there were brand new kitchen appliances and a huge plasma screen television in the den. I left my bags downstairs in the foyer, and headed up the stairs, I caught a glimpse of his room through a crack in the door; I knew it was his room by the smell, he liked to burn incense. Not wanting to see anything that I couldn't un-see, I found the guest bedroom. The room matched the house, doilies and all. I laughed to myself and wondered if Gippal was just squatting here, the doilies and the lace were just not his style. I walked back downstairs, and as I passed his room something came out and attacked me. It clung to my back, I rammed it into the wall; with its hold on me broke, I turned and had my hand around its neck. Facing it I realized that it was a woman. She looked pissed, but the way that she was breathing and her body language suggested that she was scared. I eased my hand, but kept her pinned. "Who are you?" She was silent, "I shouldn't even ask, you did come from his room…and you're not wearing pants…never mind."I let her go and continued downstairs. She yelled at me, "Who the hell are you?!" I turned; a little mad at the manner in which she asked, "I'm a friend of Eric's. And you are?" She looked confused, "Who's Eric?" I laughed, (she must be a one-nighter.) "Eric, Eric Gippal?" She nodded, "Oh, ok. Is he here with you?" I shook my head, "He's still at the shop, and you _are_?" She brushed me off and went back to his room. I grabbed my bags and carried them to the guest room, then plopped myself on the large leather couch, vegged out and watched some TV.

In the middle of some cop crime drama I decided that I should call Gippal and ask who that chick was, but when I whipped out my phone I stopped on Dean's name, it was then that I decided that the next time he called, I would answer. I called Gippal, "Find the house ok?" "Yeah, and I found someone in the house…should I worry?" He wasn't pleased, "Crap…I'm sorry, I told her to leave this morning." "Who is she?" He sighed, "Honestly, I don't remember her name…I think it starts with an L, or maybe a K? Could you do me a solid and get her out?" I laughed, "I don't think so, I'd much rather see you do it." He was about to whine his plea when I hung up. I reread the text message from Sam and replied, "I'm not making any promises, but I could maybe be calm enough to talk to Dean." I didn't expect an immediate response, but not three minutes later my phone went off, it was Sam, "Hello?" I muted the TV, "Hey, so you'll talk to him?" I changed the subject, "How's Sonia?" "_-" "Sam, I said maybe. I still need more time, how is Sonia again?" I heard him sigh, "She's better, still sad about how things went down; but she's doing better." "I'm glad, tell her that it's not her fault, I'm not mad at her anymore." "Ok, I will. She's been wondering where you are, mainly where her Mustang is." We laughed, "I'm in the middle of nowhere, and the car's in good hands, capable hands. Don't worry. Goodbye Sam."

I sat on the couch and ate Gippal's food for close to three hours, the woman upstairs hardly made a peep, and I was starting to fall asleep. I was dreaming that I was in the old house that Eric, his brother William, and a few other hunters and I used to use as home base back before I teamed up with Sonia. We were having a good time, celebrating a successful hunt, when I realized that I was dreaming. Castiel had appeared at the beer pong table, "_, where are you?" I was confused, "I'm dreaming, aren't I?" He nodded, "You need to come back, Dean is-" I stopped him, "Nope. If it involves him in any-" "Dean is in trouble." "And what can I do that Sam can't? He'll survive without me Cass." With that I woke up, and just in time to see what I thought was going to be some real entertainment; Gippal was home. I watched him go up the stairs; I waited for the yelling to start. But there was no yelling, just a girl doing the walk of shame at six thirty in the evening, and Gippal, following close behind making sure she left for real this time.

He came back into the house, I made room for him on the couch, and he sat down. Smirking he joked, "What can I say? The ladies, they just can't get enough of me." I tried to laugh but couldn't, I was still dwelling on what Cass told me in my dream, whatever it was it couldn't be good…but I wasn't ready to face him, not yet. Gippal sensed something was wrong, "What' the matter kid? You look like you just ran over a puppy." He scooted closer, and I told him about what Castiel had told me in my dream, "Do you think he was doing it to help Dean? Maybe nothing's wrong." "Yeah, I thought that too. But there's no knowing for sure, not unless I go to him and see with my own eyes." He was in deep thought, "Or, maybe it wasn't even Castiel, it was just a dream?" I never thought of that, but it felt so real, but I wasn't going to call Cass, his loyalty was to Dean. Rolling his neck he suggested a plan, "You know, _you_ don't have to see him." I smiled, "You'd do this?" He winked, "Anything for you, did Castiel say where he was?" I shook my head, "But I could always call Sam-" He took his phone out, "Or I could call Sonia." With a big grin he held the phone to his ear, "Hey, how're you!...Oh, don't be like that!...Me? I would never!...That's your opinion…Whoa, don't hang up just yet, I have something that I think you'd want to know…Now, I promised that I wouldn't tell, but I figured that you would be worried about her and well, I thought that you should know that _ passed through here a few days ago, said she was headed to Oregon or California, I don't remember…Yeah, she told me about what happened. She also said that he was in some sort of trouble? Where is he by the way?...Because I thought that I could relay the message to her…uh huh…yeah…Ohio? Mercy General Hospital in Ohio, ok thanks." I went upstairs and grabbed a bag, Gippal blocked the front door, "Where do you think you're going?" Confused, "Going with you, he's in the hospital Eric." "No, we have a plan remember? I'll go check it out, this could just be a ploy-" "He wouldn't do that, this is serious." "Well, whatever it is, I'll call you when I get there. Until then, stay here and stay low."

I did as I was told, Eric knew what he was doing, and I trusted him. Three days had past and I had heard nothing from him. I was in the middle of making cookies, when I reached into my pocket to check the time but couldn't find my phone. I looked everywhere and finally found it in between the couch cushions. It was out of battery, I plugged it into an outlet in the kitchen, I had two missed calls and two voice messages; one was from Gippal, the second was from…Dean. I listened to Gippal's first, "Just went into the hospital, I didn't see Sam or Dean anywhere, I think Sonia pulled one over us. Talk to you later." I listened to Deans, "I know I've called about a thousand times, and I know that no matter how many times I apologize it still doesn't make what I said right. I wish I could take it back, god knows I do. Baby I love you, I'm so sorry." I went and put my phone back into the couch cushions, then continued with my baking.

It was dark, about eight thirty when I heard a car pulling into the drive, my first thought was that Gippal had returned, but he had just arrived in Ohio that morning, it couldn't have been him. I armed myself with a knife from the block in the kitchen and waited by the door, you never know what shady friends Gippal's pissed off. I looked out the window, but wasn't able to see the car, I heard a knock at the door, something about it seemed familiar. I answered, standing there in just as much shock as I was, was Dean. Still holding the knife, now in plain view I asked, "What?" He smiled, I tried my hardest not to return the sentiment, I was glad to see him; he took a step towards me; "I've been a fool." He was getting a foot in the doorway when I pulled the knife up, "No, stay outside-" "Baby, I'd never hurt you-" I scoffed, "Please, you already have, and this knife will stop you from doing it again." He bowed his head, "I should've never said what I said. I was scared, _ if anything where to ever happen to you-" I put the knife down, "I know, and you're right, what you said was wrong. Funny thing is, I can get over that, that's not what hurt; what hurt me was you leaving; without a word or a chance for me to have a say in the matter." We stood there in silence, I tried to stop it, but tears began to stream down my face, I wiped them away as fast as I could so that Dean wouldn't notice. Without a sound he grabbed me, wrapped my tightly in his arms and softly said; "I will never leave you, never again, I promise." I broke down sobbing, he held me tighter; I finally regained some composure, I took a deep breath and looked at him, "You promise?" He smiled, he looked tired and relieved, "Yeah, _ I promise." I smiled and took his hand, leading him to the couch. He sat down and I snuggled into his chest, it may have only been nine at night, but we were both exhausted; I fell asleep listening to him breathe.

Not long after I was awoken by a vibrating in the couch. "What the hell?" It woke Dean up too, he reached behind himself and gave me my phone. Gippal had called again, I called him back; "Hey, what's up?" I sat up and leaned against Dean. "I'm heading back now; I think that Sonia may stop by or send someone over-" I looked at Dean, "Uh, I don't know if she sent him, but he's here…so…" "Dammit. Well, ok…are you ok? What's going on, he's not giving you any trouble is he?" "Nothing. The dust has settled and everything's good, we're good." I heard him chuckle, "Glad to hear it kid. Be safe, see you around." I turned my phone off and decided that the couch wasn't as comfortable as the guest bed, I dragged Dean upstairs and we collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep instantly.

I woke up, sunbeams shown across the room; the clock read ten o'clock. Rolling over I saw that Dean was up and awake. He stood at the window overlooking the drive way. He was on the phone, I watched him, he caught me looking and gave me a wink. Still on the phone, "Alright, thanks Bobby." He came over and sat by me on the bed, "What did Bobby want?" Kissing me on the cheek, "And a good morning to you too." He gave a faint smile and snapped out of his gazing at me, "He said there's a job not too far from here, wanted me to check it out." I picked a feather that had come from the comforter, out of his hair. "What's the gig?" He blew the feather from my finger, "Shape shifter." "Are you going to take the job?" He shook his head, "Someone else can take this one, there's no place I'd rather be." I inched away, (Dean wouldn't choose me over a job…not like this anyways.) I smiled, "Oh, come on! I haven't been on a hunt in ages, we should go!" He came towards me, "Let's just give another hunter a chance to be the hero, shall we?" I looked out the window at the driveway, my heart dropped when I saw the car, it wasn't the Impala; this wasn't Dean. Not wanting to let on that I knew something was wrong, I turned to him, "Alright, no hunt then. But I need to go to the little girls' room; go powder my nose." He smiled, and I hurried to the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I got my phone out of my pocket and turned it on, it chimed. I ran the water to mute the noise, I called Dean, the real Dean. "Hey M-" I was beginning to panic, "Dean, there's a shape shifter here, I'm trapped and I don't have anything on me-" "Whoa, whoa. Listen to me, hold tight we're coming; where are you?" I heard the shape shifter knocking at the door, "Gippal's house, Sonia will know where it is…Dean, please-" He had picked the lock, taking the phone from me and throwing it down the hall, he hit me and I blacked out.

When I came to, I didn't know where I was. It was dark, and looked to me like an abandoned storage warehouse. My hands were tied around a pillar, the shape shifter had a knife, smiling he ducked down and spoke, "Sorry about this, really I am. But, Dean was right; being with him is dangerous." Running the knife along my cheek he smiled, "If it makes you feel any better, he really is sorry." He stood back up and focused his attention to something on a table. Against my better judgment I spoke, asking, "What did he do?" Sticking the knife into the table he looked back at me, "He took something from me, and I intend to return the favor." Bottle in hand he poured it into a cloth, I turned my head but it was useless, he smothered me and I was knocked out, yet again. Fading in and out of consciousness I finally came to when I felt a pair of hands at holding my face, "Kid, wake up, c'mon, wake up…" My vision coming into focus I saw platinum blonde hair and a pair of green eyes, she smiled, "Good girl." With all I had, I mustered, "Sonia?" She nodded, my hands had been cut free; I saw someone come behind her, "Behind you-" She turned, "It's just Dean, not the shape shifter." She stood up, Dean knelt down; "Hey, you're safe now." Still in a daze I pulled back, he took out a knife, "This is pure silver," he dragged it across his arm, "see? Not a shifter." Having put me at ease, he lifted me up and carried me out.

Dean gently set me down in the back of the Impala Sam gave me a smile, I looked to my left and saw Gippal, "Bet you didn't know I had security cameras in the house." He grinned, Sonia gave him a look, "Where in the house? The bathrooms no doubt…pervert." They were on the verge of arguing, when Sam interrupted, looking back at me, "How do you feel?" I looked in the rearview and made eye contact with Dean, "You should let me out of the car." All eyes were on me, Gippal asked, "Why?" I lied, "Because I feel like I'm going to puke…" With that Dean pulled over, Sonia let me out. We were on a stretch oh unfamiliar highway, I looked back at the Impala, then began to walk away. Still outside of the car, Sonia yelled, "Kid?!" then ran after me. She caught up, stopping me, Sam and Gippal were in the process of getting out of the car, "What do you think you're doing?" I didn't feel like explaining myself, mostly because there was nothing to explain, I just didn't want to see Dean. "I'm walking." Hands on her hips she knew why I was doing this, "It's just a car ride-" I continued to walk, she threw her hands up, "I give up!" Sam and Gippal were coming closer, she stopped them, "Let her go, she'll be fine." I heard the doors to the Impala shut, then watched it speed pass me. I began to hum to myself, zipping up my jacket and shoving my hands in my pockets, it was beginning to get cold. About twenty minutes into the walk I heard someone behind me, right behind me. As I was turning to see who or what it was, they caught up to me, and walked alongside me. Startled at first, I realized who it was and calmed down. He didn't say anything, he just kept pace with me.

We walked for a long while, every time I stopped to rest, he did the same, and not a word passed between us. I couldn't take it anymore, the silence between the two of us was just too weird. "So…who's driving the Impala?" He glanced at me, "Sam." I thought that if I talked first that he would continue some sort of conversation, he didn't. Another ten minutes of silence passed. The highway had come to a 'T', I didn't know which way to go; not wanting to look to Dean for an answer I went right. He stopped, "_, I'm sorry." I walked up to him, "I know. And fortunately for you, I wasted my crazy girlfriend speech on the shape shifter." He smirked, "That's not funny, he could've-" I put my hand over his mouth, "I know what could've happened to me, and guess what? If you _weren't _there than he probably would've. Dean, promise me something." He removed my hand and held it in his, "Promise me that you'll never leave like that again." He nodded, "I promise." I smiled, "Now you're sure you're not the shape shifter?" "Seriously, not funny." I laughed, walking hand in hand he led me the correct way, we backtracked and went left. I explained what had happened with the shifter, Dean was annoyed, masking from me his true anger, "That son of a bitch…" Trying to calm him down, "He's taken care of Dean, don't dwell on it." I stopped, "What's the matter?" I sat cross-legged on the pavement, "My feet hurt…and you're not carrying me on your back." He laughed, "I forgot about that rule, fine; wasn't going to suggest it anyways." He called Sam, "Where are you? We need a lift."

We sat there, I played with leaves of grass and Dean sharpened his knife on the roadside for close to half an hour when we saw the Impala come roaring towards us. Dean flagged him down, I sat in the middle, Sam in the passenger; joking, "I'm not letting you out, so if you puke, puke on Dean." Dean turned to Sam, "If anyone pukes in this car it'll be the last thing you do." I turned the radio up and asked Sam where Sonia was, "She took the Mustang into Gippal's shop, said that she didn't trust you driving it and that whatever the cost, you're paying it." Smiling, "I'm not paying jack shit, Eric and I are tight, I'm sure he told you how far back we go. Hell, he'd do it for free just because cars' like hers give him a major boner." Dean sighed, "I forgot the things that come out of your mouth." Sam and I laughed, "You love it, don't lie." We drove back to Gippal's house and stayed the night there.

Sam and Dean left for a job in Indiana that morning. It was three a.m., Dean woke me up from a dead sleep, whispering, "Hey, babe. Sam and I are going on a job; I'll call you later." Then he kissed my forehead, I lifted the covers over my head, I heard him chuckle. When I woke up I found a note on the dresser, "_M, Went to Cicero, Indiana_; _it looks like_ _a normal haunting, shouldn't take us too long. Sonia's going to take you to Bobby's. I'll call or text you later tonight, Love you.-DW _" I went downstairs and found Gippal at the stove, Sonia was sitting on a stool at the island. "Hmm, is it such a good idea for the two of you to be in such close proximity? This is fighting distance." Gippal tended to his frying pan, "Believe it or not kid, we can get along; you see she secretly wants in my pants so-" Sonia shot up, "What!? In your dreams!" Gippal turned around, frying pan in hand and dished up sausage, stopping in front of Sonia and her plate, "Sonny, would you like my sausage?" She looked like she was going to punch him, I sat next to her and told Gippal to stop, "I can't be held liable for the actions of my client, Eric." He went back to the stove and continued to cook, "Hey kid, did you ever find out what the angel meant?" My mouth was full of food, "Um, what?" He flipped a pancake, "The dream you had, Castiel telling you Dean was in trouble?" I asked Sonia, she had told Gippal that he was in the hospital. "Sonia, care to elaborate on what Cass told me? You did lead Eric on a wild goose chase to a hospital in Ohio." She looked at me, "No one told you? Dean wasn't the only one that the shifter changed into." That explained the call, but not Cass being in my dream, Sonia didn't understand, "M, what about Castiel?"

I explained to her what I already told Gippal, she was just as lost as we were. "That is strange, but maybe you two are right; and it was just a normal dream that he happened to be in." Gippal served up the pancakes and sat with us, they told me how the hunt went last night, and wondered how Dean and I were doing. "We're fine, back to normal." Gippal asked the next logical question, "What are you two anyways?" Sonia leaned in, she was wondering the same thing, but I didn't know how to answer, I deflected, "Sonia what would you say you and Sam are?" She was taken aback, "Oh, no, no ,no, you were asked first. So, what are you to Dean and Dean to you?" I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know? I guess I'm his girlfriend? We've never really talked about it." Gippal asked another, "Is it an open relationship?" I shook my head, "No, we did talk about that. Just the two of us, no one else." I looked at Sonia, "And what are you and Sam again?" She smirked, "Sam and I are together…we are what the other needs at that time." I changed the subject, "Eric, how's the shop?" We continued to avoid the topic of relationships for the rest of breakfast. By mid afternoon Sonia and I had said our goodbyes to Gippal, and were back on the road. "So you drove my 'stang all the way to Montana? I'm impressed, I mean Gippal said it was in good shape." I laughed her off, she continued, "You and Gippal…I remember a time when the two of you were pretty close, did anything ever…you know…happen?" I sighed, "As much as I love talking about my past, I'd like to focus on the present if that's not a problem." She smiled at me, "Oh my, you and he did have something didn't you?" I shot her a look and she stopped digging.

The remainder of the ride to Bobby's was like most of our road trips, lots of singing, gas station food, and girl talk. We stayed at a motel once, that's when I got the call from Dean, "Hey, what's up?" "Just got to a motel, going to start the investigation tomorrow. How're you holding up with Sonia?" I chuckled, "I'm managing. Not to blind side you or anything, but I was asked a question and didn't know the answer…I thought that you may be able to help." "I'll give it a go, shoot." "Umm, the question was, what are we? Like you and I-" "You're my girl, and if you want, the word 'friend' can be added in the end. That answer it?" I smiled, "Yep, thank you for the clarification Mr. Winchester." "Not a problem. I'll talk to you later, ok?" "Okie dokie, love you." "You too." We left for Sioux Falls that morning, and made it to Bobby's later that night. He was pouring himself over a book in the study, "Sonia..." I smiled, "Hey Bobby." He looked up, "Well I'll be…" He got up and hugged me, "It's good to see you kid." "You too Bobby." Sonia rolled her eyes, "I don't know why you're being so dramatic Bobby, I told you she'd come back."

He gave her a look, then asked her to call Sam and recite the paragraph he'd marked off in the book he'd been reading. "_, we need to talk." He led me outside, we sat on the porch swing. "What's up Bobby?" He sighed, "You and Dean-" "Whoa, no disrespect Bobby, but we just went over this and it just got resolved-" He shook his head, "That's not what I'm talking about, although it was a valid point and needed to be said. However, I know how good of a hunter you truly are, even if those Idjits don't." I sat back and listened, "What I'm getting at kid, is that I've never seen a hunter more happy, hell a more happy man, in my life than how happy Dean is with you." I smiled, "Thanks Bobby." He gave me a grin, a rarity, "Don't thank me, it's the truth. I just figured you ought to know." He patted my back and went inside.

I remained on the swing, and got a call from Dean, "Yo." He chuckled, "Yo? Whatever. Job's done and we're heading back; should be there by tomorrow night." I looked at the junk cars in the salvage yard, "Ok, see you then." "Love you." "You too Dean." I stretched and yawned, though I wasn't tired. I went back inside and found the crossroads book I had caught Dean reading weeks ago, I opened it up and a folded slip of paper fell out, Bobby and Sonia didn't notice it; they were buried in their own books. I unfolded the paper and noticed that it was in Dean's handwriting, it was an address and a phone number, I snuck into the kitchen and called it, a recording played, "Thank you for calling Oak Plains jewelers and engraving, out hours of operation are from-" I hung up; (A jeweler?) I went back into the study and put the paper back into the book, and the book on the shelf. A thousand different things were running through my head, but I snapped back to reality with a loud sneeze from Bobby, "Bless you." Sonia was just as startled, "Kazoontyte!" I asked what they were researching, Sonia mumbled, some nonsense, which meant that she had a Cosmo magazine hidden inside her book, it did explain why she'd been circling things. Bobby, closed the book and rubbed his eyes, "We _were_ trying to find a sure fire way to summon an angel, but so far as I can tell it's impossible." "Like force an angel to come?" He nodded, "We would ask Cass, but he's been MIA for about a month now. It's kind of a vicious circle."

Figuring this was as good a time as any, I told Bobby about the dream I had with Cass, he was just as confused as Sonia and I. With that we turned in for the night. My dream was vivid, Dean and I were grocery shopping, when we came across a man in a trench coat. "Castiel?" He nodded, I asked, "Where are you? No one can find you." He looked at Dean, "This is what you dream about? Interesting. I've been in heaven; there's something going on, I just don't know what." This was the real Cass, I knew it. "Have you been in any of my other dreams lately?" He looked at me, intrigued, "No. Why?" I shook my head, "No reason, I thought that you were, that's all." He came closer, "Where are you right now?" "Bobby's." I woke up on the couch; Cass was standing in the middle of the room, "When was this dream?" I had to think, counting on my fingers, "Eight days ago?" He was quiet, thinking, "It appeared to be me?" I nodded, wondering if anyone was going to walk in on us, he continued, "What did it say?" "That Dean was in trouble, and that I needed to go to him." He glanced over Bobby's desk, "Hmm." I sat up, "Why were you in my dream tonight?" Glancing at me, he continued to flip through pages, "I was going to ask if it was true, but your dream has confirmed it." "What do you mean?" He looked straight at me, "You and Dean, if the two of you were indeed, together." I nodded, "We, are…and what does that have to do with anything?" He shut the book, "I am uncertain. But there are whispers about it in heaven, I can't say why." "Can't, or won't?" He was deep in thought and without another word, vanished. I looked at the clock, I had only been asleep for an hour; I pulled the blankets over myself and turned in yet again.

I awoke to the slamming of the screen door, then the whispers of a frustrated Dean to an apologetic Sam. They snuck past me and went into the kitchen, then to the basement. I got up and followed behind, watching them from the top of the basement stairs. Dean was unloading his duffel, Sam was leaned against a pillar, "I still don't get it Dean-" "There's nothing to get, angels don't like it. And for that very reason alone, I'm not going to tell her." "She deserves the truth." "Yeah, I know she does, except when the truth will hurt her. She still doesn't even like believing angels are dicks, let alone they don't want me to be with her." Sam looked at Dean with concern, "Sam, listen to me; don't tell her, in fact don't even bring up the subject of angels anywhere near her, ok?" Sam was about to speak, Dean interrupted again, "Sammy, they worded it, 'you're of too much import for you to be hers.'" Sam attempted to speak again, Dean interrupted…again, "Hell, if anyone is too good to be anyone else's, it's her to me. I'm not good enough, but she-" Sam raised his voice and was able to get a word in, "Dean, if you don't want me to tell her that's fine. It's whatever, but the angels may do something that breaks the two of you up, and you not explaining it before hand is going to be the reason why it works." Slamming a sawed off rifle onto the work bench, Dean sighed, "You're right…I'll tell her...later. Open the panic room door, would you?" Arms filled with bags of salt, Dean made his way to the panic room, he saw me sitting on the staircase. "Crap."

I stood up and stopped at the bottom of the stairs, "Something you wanna tell me?" He handed Sam the salt and came to me. Exhaling, "I don't know how to tell you this, I don't want to but-" "I already heard what the angels said, just now. Anything you want to add?" He looked at me, "I'm sorry, I was going to tell you, I swear." I cupped his face, "I know…it's ok." His hands were at the back of my neck, forehead to forehead we stood, until Sam came out of the panic room. "Um…Hi, _." I looked past him to the panic room, "Stocking up?" He nodded, "Making it extra cozy." I looked back to Dean, "Oh, before I forget, Cass came over." Sam and Dean were surprised, "What?!" I explained, "Yeah, about two hours ago. He was wondering if Dean and I were together." Dean, "What'd you tell him?" I gave half of a smile, "I told him the truth. Why? Should I have lied?" He shook his head, "No, no it's just…weird that he'd ask that. Did he say anything else?" I thought, "He said that something was going on in heaven, that's why he's been gone, but he didn't know what it was." Sam joined us, "Dean, you think they're connected?" Dean looked at Sam, "What's connected?" "Whatever Cass' is looking into and you two being together?" We thought about it, Dean gave his answer, "Probably…But you know what? It's none of their business, we don't have to explain or tell them _anything_." I smile, he was right; it was just us, us against the world.


End file.
